Hidden Illusion Decrepit: Beneath the Spring of Myst!
by Mimiru88
Summary: Have you ever wondered what lies in the depths of the Myst Spring? Many casually toss in a useless weapon or scraps of armor. However, none have yet explored the enchanted, effervescent seabed! When two venturous companions, Sai and Feather, investigate one rippling pool, they discover a mystery unlike any other in The World! Equip your weapons and wet suits! We're diving right in!


**HIDDEN ILLUSION DECREPIT**

"Are you sure you want to try this?"

Sai twisted her torso over the pool. The field was cloudless-pleasant and bright. A simulated breeze wove through the plain and eased it's way through the sparkling grass beneath them. She considered the name and thought it was in poor taste. It hardly described the aesthetic and cheerful area.

She eyed the glistening, tawny portal nearby, which pivoted yet didn't pulse-a good sign. They were slightly out of reach of the looming, ravenous beasts which were imprisoned and yearning for battle.

"Have you heard of the Wood between the Worlds?" Sai eyed Feather.

"In the story, two children find themselves in a forest filled with pools," Feather murmured. "Each pool led to a separate, distinct world. Unless you had access to a certain type of dust from the Wood, you couldn't return or go back home."

Sai gazed into the Spring of Myst intently. "I wonder...I wonder what could happen to us. We could throw some armor in, but then...we could be wasting a trip." Wink.

Feather considered, shrugged and hoisted her heavy blade.

"I'm going now."

Feather nodded. The Myst Spring had always been a mysterious facet of The World. It was natural to be intrigued by the world rippling beneath the surface.

Sai dove in headfirst as Feather gingerly slipped into the ebbing pool.

"I...I can't believe it." Feather whispered.

Sai was giddy with greedy, breathless excitement. The floor was sprawling with coral and brilliantly patterned fish glided past them. Despite the blue tint at the surface, the depths hosted a haunting, Salmon-hued glow. And nestled on the sandy bottom throughout the pool...

"Glorious!"

"Sai..." The willful Twin Blade swam ferociously to a gleaming pile of...

"Can you believe this?" She was scavenging through a gigantic mass of discarded weapons. The floor was littered with them. Huge, elevated columns of blades, axes, and armor, some completely rusted through. Entire schools, snails, and prawns had bravely made their homes there.

"Everything-everything is stored here. Look!"

Feather pirouetted and, gleaming in neat rows on the sandy floor, spanning to infinity, were rows of gold and silver axes. "So, if we hit the motherlode down here, where is He?" She breathed.

Her companion was absentmindedly clutching a set of newly-acquired Soul Blades to her chest.

At that moment, the atmosphere seemed to pulse electrically. On the outskirts, barely within their sphere of vision, hunched a jagged, metallic hut composed of melded shards of equipment. A bellow erupted deep from it's cavernous walls.

A lithe and gelatinous form oozed from the shack, shimmied down to them menacingly.

"Gra...Grandpa?!" Sai whispered.

The quivering being intoned, "Have you dropped a Golden Life of a Silver Life?"

Dread.

Feather fingered her headset as she felt the blood drain from her face. How should they respond? Neither?

Without warning, Grandpa was suddenly wielding a heavy axe from his bloated collection. He effectively sliced Sai's breastplate in half. It crumbled and drifted to the floor. Feather watched as her friend's HP plummeted—a near fatality.

"Sai!" Feather quickly healed and arrived at her side. "Fight!"

Haphazardly, Feather summoned a slew of fiery magical items. Sai began to slash and hack. Still, no health bar appeared for Grandpa, and though he had dropped his weapon, he began to utilize magical attacks that neither had ever experienced before. Evasion became crucial if they wanted to live. Instead of trusting their equipment, they clawed and kicked in an attempt to surface.

"Feather!" Sai shrieked. "I don't want to end up like the others!"

There was no escaping it. Grandpa, in his natural environment, was steadily gaining momentum. As the surface drew near, Sai glanced behind her and halted.

Grandpa had violently jerked back and froze, hovering over his watery abode. It was as if he'd hit a barrier. Sai and Feather exchanged bewildered looks. After observing silently, Sai decided to try something fundamental, a key component to The World. The Fairy's Orb illumnated the pool and the pink mist-like glow faded. What was left was inexplicable.

Grandpa's pulsing body was indeed teathered, tied by a glinting, enchanted chain.

"He's...imprisoned here?" Feather gasped. "For what purpose?" She figured it'd be a long shot, but she fired The Moon at Grandpa. His rippling body became rigid. 

Sai dove closer and treated the chain like an oponent, weakening it's magical and physical defenses and using Flame Dance. The chain did not host a health bar but was weakening and cracking. Feather glided next to her for aid, wielding the final blow.

As soon as Grandpa's body was freed, he whipped past them towards the surface, seeming to have forgotten the battle entirely in his attempt to reap autonomy.

The companions floated behind, reaching their hands to the grassy rim of the pool, and crested. The giant drop thrust itself into the bright, twilight-tinted sky of field. They watched in wonder as the beautiful atmosphere morphed before them into a grey, bubbling expanse. As they emerged from the pool, thick rain swiftly fell in sheets. Soon, a thin layer of water began to accumulate, stretching across the field. Thunder awakened the monsters from their portals, and once they emerged, they were immediately engulged by fatal bolts of white light. Stray Mandragoras were drowned, their harmless, happy singing turned to gurgling shrieks as they expired. The rain was tinted with acid, and the plants and grass began to succumb to consumption. The water inevitably began to gnaw and bite at Sai's and Feather's armor and weapons. The once cheerful field was now deteriorating around them, slipping into decadence.

"It was so bright and lovely before." Sai whispered, her somber face enveloped by the storm. "Tell me...Is this freedom?"

"Or is it Retribution?" Feather finished, without holding the answer. "You know, Sai, I'm not sure if we'll ever see the sun in this field again."

Sai and Feather had unanimously avoided the game throughout the week, claiming various excuses, but both suffering from a lingering sense of doom. When both met again in Mac Anu and had gained the courage to examine the field, the words no longer existed at the Chaos Gate.

 **HIDDEN ILLUSION DECREPIT** could no longer be accessed, and, upon further questioning of certain parties, it had been sealed and quarantined for investigation by CC Corp. The imprisoned NPC, who had taken it upon himself to consequently imprison his entire land, would most likely be terminated with the world surrounding him. Subsequently, Myst Springs throughout the world were sure to be investigated for tampering as well.

Sai and Feather rarely spoke on the matter, but always were questioning.

Who imprisoned Grandpa and why?

No matter how far we searched, the sun refused to illuminate the answer.


End file.
